Prompted Romance
by Chelsea is French
Summary: Rock Lee, after countless times of asking Sakura to go out with him, has been rejected once again, and he loses all hope of ever having a chance with the pink haired kunoichi. That is until Tenten, frayed and exhausted from seeing Lee so down on himself, works to nudge Sakura in the right direction. Will Lee be able to get the girl he's been hoping for?
1. Ramen and Disappointment

Rock Lee sat down on a stool in a small resturant, not bothering to look around or even think for that matter. He simply sat and faced the boy to his right, feeling dejected as he was met with a blue gaze that was nearly a polar opposite to his own. The boy had been grinning when he was joined by Rock Lee, but after seeing his expression, the yellow-haired boy lowered his mouth into a dissapointed frown.

"I see she rejected your date offer, huh Lee?"

Lee turned his head away from him and stared at the smooth counter top before him, not bothering to answer. He couldn't make sense of why she'd said no...again.

"Sakura-san!" _Lee had called, running after her._

"Wait up!" _A girl, about the same age as Rock Lee, stopped and turned to face him. She had short pink hair, soft green eyes, and was wearing a simple red and white dress. She folded down her hair as Lee raced towards her, his face brimming with joy._

"Yes, Lee? What's up?" _Sakura replied as Lee came to a halt in front of her. He met her gaze and she smiled briefly at him before breaking eye contact to glance behind her shoulder anxiously._

"Sakura-san, I must ask you something!" _Lee delared, feeling pride and determination welling up inside of him. 'This time,' Lee had thought. 'This time she will say yes!'_

_Sakura turned her attention back to Lee, looking a little irritated._

"Well, make it quick! I have to catch up to Sasuke. He's probably on the other side of the Leaf Village by now!"

_Rock Lee dipped his head slightly at her words, but he kept the same determination in his voice as he had before._

"Very well, Sakura-san. While this question is of the utmost importance, I will ask quickly."

"Sakura!" _Lee exclaimed, going down on one knee and opening his arms wide as if to embrace her._

"Will you please be my girlfriend?"

Before Lee could further dwell on his rejection, his thoughts were interrupted by a hand that now lay flat right in front of his face. The owner of the hand, who owned the shop, spoke in a stern, though not necessarily mean tone.

"Hey, kid. You gonna order something or what?"

Lee turned away from the shop owner, not meeting the man's eyes.

"No sir." Lee replied quietly.

"I'll just be going." Lee got up and was able to take a single step before a different hand dragged him back to his seat by the folds of his green spandex suit. Lee turned in surprise to the boy he'd been sitting next to, feeling a little flustered as he stammered out "W-what, Naruto?" Naruto smiled in a way that was almost sympathetic, then gave a beaming smile to the shop owner.

"He'll have today's special chef!" Patting his stomach which was already rather full, he grinned even wider and added "Make that two."

Lee started to turn away from the counter again, not feeling as hungy as he usually was around lunch time, but Naruto pulled him back.

"C'mon, Bushy Brow! Eat up! Food, especially heavenly ramen, helps with lots you know!" Naruto beamed at Lee, hoping to lift his spirits, but Lee only sighed and revisited the chain of events hat had occured that morning.

"No, Lee. I'm sorry, but I'm just not really...I'm sorry, Lee."

_He had stood there, silent and shocked as the wave of silence that followed Sakura's flustered words washed over him. He had remained perfectly still, even after Sakura had left to continue her search for Sasuke. Lee felt like a statue, stoney and cold and unable to feel anything but the weathering of another storm. _

"Hey! Bushy Brow! Snap out of it!" Naruto waved his hand in front of Lee's face frantically, feeling a bit of worry rise in his stomach. Lee blinked, then turned his head to Naruto, looking somber. He rose, and this time Naruto did not try to stop him.

"Thank you for the meal, but I must be going. I must train for a while, and I would not want to do so on a bloated stomach." Lee indicates with a slight gesture of his hand to Naruto's currently rotund stomach. Without another word, Lee began walking away from the shop, leaving a very full (and slightly insulted) Naruto behind. However, the Leaf Ninja would not get very far. As neither of them were truly paying attention to where they were going, Lee and Tenten collided with one another and both fell awkwardly to the ground.

"Lee!" Tenten exclaimed, rising and brushing off her shirt before extending an arm to her teammate. She looked concerned; it wasn't like Lee to not be paying attention to his surroundings. Lee grabbed Tenten's hand and lifted himself up, then murmured a "Sorry" and continued walking without another word. Tenten ran after the ninja and stopped right in front of him, looking confused.

"Lee, what's wrong? You said earlier that you were going to have good news for me and Naruto! I tried to get over to Ichiraku's on time but...I...Lee?" Tenten studied his face as he Lee suddenly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He raised his head to Tenten just enough to look her in the eye.

"There is no good news. I am sorry for getting your hopes up, Tenten." _And I am sorry for getting mine up as well. _Lee thought to himself. Tenten looked at Lee in astonishment, wondering what could have made Lee seem so...unhappy. And then the thought hit Tenten like a kunai in the back, making her ball up her fists. _Sakura._


	2. Tenten's dislike of Coffee and Sakura

Tenten knocked on the door, hoping the kunoichi she was looking for was here. After escorting a very dissapointed Lee back to his house (despite his occasional pleading that he must go train) Tenten found her way to Sakura's house. She felt angry, and she herself could feel the pain Lee was feeling. That was her teammate, and no one should be allowed to hurt him like that. Tenten knocked again, this time harder. She could hear faint movement inside the house, and then a muffled "_Hold on!" _ The door opened, and Sakura appeared. She was smiling, though her face showed that she was confused about Tenten's arrival.

"Can I help you, Tenten?" She asked politely.

"Yeah." Replied Tenten, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

"Mind if I come in?"

-"But if you add creamer, it tastes so good!" Tenten waved her hands in front of her face, rejecting Sakura's coffee offer once more. She'd never really cared for it, even with sugar and sweeteners thrown in. Sakura sighed and poured some coffee into a mug, then added caremel creamer to it. She took a sip and sat down across from Tenten at the other end of her kitchen table. She was dressed the same way she had been when Lee asked her out, though her hair was a little messy and she looked somewhat tired, which would explain her need for coffee. Sakura had spent half of the day looking for Sasuke, but her searches had been in vain. The elusive Uchiha had disappeared for the time being, most likely to some quiet spot in the forest. _That Lee! If he hadn't stopped me, I never would have lost Sasuke in the first place! _Tenten cleared her throat, which brought Sakura's attention away from her thoughts and back to her guest.

"So..." Sakura began, unsure of what she should say. Tenten saved her from the sentence she was trying to compose.

"Let me cut to the chase. We need to talk about Lee." Tenten eyed Sakura in an irritated manor as Sakura shook her head slightly, indicating she didn't want to talk about the black haired ninja.

"He cares for you Sakura. I'm sure you've already noticed." Sakura nodded, thinking back to the hundreds of times that he'd asked her out between now and the first time she'd met him. Tenten put her elbows on the table, using them to lean her head farther towards Sakura.

"You may not realize it, but every time you reject him, it's like a kunai's being dug into his heart. Now, after today, he barely has any heart left, let alone spirit." Sakura lowered her gaze a little, not wanting to hear these words. She didn't like thinking about the pain she caused Lee to have. Sometimes, she forgot it was even there.

"Sakura, I get that you don't like him. You don't have to!" She added quickly after that. Her voice became slower and quieter. She spoke now in a tone that was almost menacing.

"But...I wish you would give him a chance." Sakura raised her gaze just enough to see Tenten's hands, which were now holding each other. _Give him a chance? Lee? But he's...Lee is a great guy, but I don't want to...why me? Why does he only like me? _ Tenten sighed and gave Sakura one last pleading look.

"One date. That's all I'm asking for, and if it goes badly, I'll take full responsibility for it." Tenten felt the words leave her mouth and instantly regretted them. Not that she didn't have faith in Lee; it was just that Lee tended to be a bit much when he got very excited or caught up in the moment of things. Still, Tenten stood her ground, staring at Sakura evenly. She studied the pink haired kunoichi as she ran a hand through her messy hair. Sakura's gaze flicked all over the kitchen, hitting every spot in the room but Tenten's unwavering gaze. At last, she sighed and reached one hand over the table.

"Alright. Deal." Ecstatic, Tenten shook Sakura's hand and jumped to her feet, feeling severely relieved. She could imagine Lee having a heart-attack when she told him that Sakura was going out on a date with him.

"Thank you so much Sakura! I'll tell Lee right away." Tenten started towards the door, but then quickly whirled back around.

"When do you want to..._date Lee?"_ Tenten asked, putting excited emphasis on her last two words. Sakura waved her hand and shrugged. She was free of missions for the next three days, so it didn't matter what time to her. After some quick thoughts, Tenten came to the idea of tomorrow afternoon, around 4:00. Sakura agreed, and decided to let Lee choose where the date would be, ao long as it wasn't in the middle of nowhere. Tenten waved goodbye to Sakura and hurried away to Lee's apartment, excited to deliver the good news. Within a short amount of time, Tenten was knocking on Lee's door, telling him that his dream girl was going on a date with him tomorrow.

As expected, Lee fainted while grinning his head off.


	3. Lee Destroys a Tree

Lee carefully straightened his shirt collar while inspecting himself in the mirror, checking to see if Tenten had missed anything. She had been at his house all morning, rummaging through his single closet (she was shocked at this) for any date-worthy clothes. Eventually, after a long period of soul crushing attempts to work with what Lee already had, Tenten took him to the store and picked out an outfit. It took a bit of debating to convince Lee that what she had in mind was stud material, but eventually Lee gave in to Tenten's judgement and bought the clothes.

Now completely ready for his date, Lee wore a well-fitting white shirt with sleeves that ended at his elbows. It had a small collar, and one single pocket right over his heart. He had wanted to put a Sakura blossom in the shirt pocket, but Tenten had disagreed and replaced it with a small cut rose. His pants were black slacks, simple but not casual. Finally, his shoes (which inspired Tenten's addition of the rose to Lee's shirt) were white with neat red laces folded over them in tidy knots. Lee had to admit, he liked the way Tenten's outfit matched together so well, but he still would have preferred something more breathable like his green spandex suit.

Lee checked his clock, which read 3:32, and he shook a little with excitement. _Only twenty eight minutes until I see Sakura-san! _Lee looked around his bedroom, wondering what he would do now, since he still had some time to kill before he picked up Sakura. He thought of calling Tenten, but she'd already done so much for him, Lee couldn't possibly bother her. So he sat on his bed and waited, losing himself in his own thoughts and plans for the day. He truly couldn't believe it. Sakura was going out on a date with him! _Perhaps she will forget all about Sasuke and ask me to be her boyfriend! _Lee smiled at this thought, dreamily mulling over what this day had in store for him. He glanced back at his clock and saw that only a few minutes had passed, so he rose and walked out of his room, humming to himself happily. He found his way to the front door without really thinking about it and stepped outside. The air was a little cool, but there was warm sunshine filtering through this slight chill. Deciding that he could simply arrive at Sakura's house early, Lee set off in her direction while humming happy notes to a song he could not even remember.

Lee knocked on Sakura's door, hoping that he wasn't too early. He could hear a few quick steps towards the front door, then it opened and revealed a rather radiant Sakura. She was beautifully dressed, wearing a red dress with gold colored trim on the bottom edges of it and gold floral designs that patterned the very top of the dress. She smiled at Lee, unable to do anything else but shuffle her feet, which were wearing red slip on shoes. Rock Lee noticed that her hair had a shimmering golden ribbon tied in it, and he could all but keep himself from running his hand through her hair and playing with the silky ribbon.

"Lee?" Sakura said, which snapped the black haired ninja back to attention.

"I apologize, Sakura. Did I arrive too early?" Sakura smiled again and shook her head.

"No, Lee, you're right on time. I was just wondering if you were ready to leave now." Lee nodded his head, excitement welling up inside of him. He took Sakura's arm in his, then realized that he might seem a bit forward, so he let go of her arm and glanced at the sky awkwardly. Sakura giggled and grabbed Lee's hand, which caused him to blush uncontrollably. _Sakura is holding my hand!_ As they walked, Lee sparked small conversations about how Sakura's day had been so far. Sakura told him about how she'd woken up earlier than expected, so she visited the training grounds for a few hours. She talked about her lunch she had spent with Ino, and how it had been interrupted by Choji, who was hungry enough to finish their lunches off for them. Lee listened with unwavering interest to each word Sakura spoke, even though she truly didn't have that much to say. She just didn't want to walk in silence to wherever Lee was taking her. Still, she appreciated Lee's attention._  
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After a few more minutes of walking, Lee and Sakura arrived at a quiet park that was built around a long trail that wove through the forest. There were few people there, mostly children playing at the small playground and other couples walking along the trail. Lee pointed to the start of the trail and the two of them began walking along it's scenic path. The walk was rather relaxing, with birds singing in the trees that leaned over the path, dropping leaves that swirled in the breeze in beautiful mixtures of green. Once, almost halfway through the trail, Lee stopped and decided to test his skill against the leaves.

"Sakura. If I can pluck every leaf from that tree in one minute," Lee began, motioning towards a tree directly to their right. "Then you will have to go out on another date with me. Do you agree?" Lee asked, grinning at Sakura with his famous thumbs-up. Sakura laughed and nodded her head, curious to see how Lee thought he was going to pull this off. Lee asked Sakura to keep time, and the kunoichi nodded. Preparing himself, Lee half-stood half-crouched in front of the tree and asked Sakura to give him him his que.

"Ready, set...go!" Sakura yelled the words and Lee leapt into the tree, moving with lightning fast speed as he pulled leaf after leaf off of the tree. Sakura excitedly kept the time in her head, trying very carefully not to speed up or slow down.

25, 26, 27, 28...

Sakura watched in awe as Lee cleared almost half of the tree of leaves, and still removing more with the same speed as when he started. She couldn't believe how well he was doing in general! She half-consciously wondered if Lee had been training for this, but the thought was soon sent away. He wouldn't have done that, or at least, she didn't _think _that he would have done that.

48, 49, 50, 51, 52...

Lee was sure he was going to win this bet. He could only see a few leaves left, and he was sure he still had some time left. Lee leapt into a higher branch and grabbed every leaf he could see with quick, almost snake-like movements. Lee thought that his next date had been secured when slight movement above caught his eye. Far above him, in the highest, thinnest branch there was, waved a single green leaf, fluttering in the breeze. Panicked, Lee raced up the tree, flitting in and out of capable human sight as he made his way to the top. The leaf was close, just a few branches higher than Lee. He reached out in one last attempt, knowing that his time was almost up and grabbed in the direction of the leaf. At this same moment, Sakura called "Time!" and Lee opened his hand to find it empty. The leaf, still waving proudly above him, had just cancelled Lee's second date.

Lee made it back to the ground feeling sad and ashamed of himself, but Sakura welcomed him with a warm and comforting smile that reminded Lee that he still had at least one date. She led him away from the tree and they continued along the trail, but just for a moment Sakura looked back to the bare tree. In that moment, the most spectacular thing happened: the leaf, with no breeze and all of it's own accord, fell. Sakura watched the leaf drift to the ground, and she smiled knowingly at Lee, who smiled back without even knowing why.


End file.
